The Hamas Wing of the House GOP

Sounds harsh, but its true. Eight House GOP Members did violence on their Speaker without a plan to follow up. Twenty-two added to the carnage.

This much is true. I’m supposed to be in Israel right now.

I have long aspired to be a war correspondent, but my trip sponsor, Rev. Dr. Lon Solomon, and especially the fetching Mrs. Johnston, had other ideas. I’ve not written much the past two weeks and was planning not to be in the US for October - two weeks in Portugal (accomplished) and 11 days in Israel (not so much).

Fox News’ Trey Yingst, doing the job I aspired to. I don’t have to shave and am no stranger to flak jackets. I can do this!

So here I am, back inside the beltway, my face firmly planted in the palms of my hands as I watch the daily first-world debacle called the House of Representatives as they descend into schoolyard shenanigans. I’m so embarrassed.

I would instead be covering real-life stuff in Israel. At least that matters—potential end-times stuff. Meanwhile, we get tit-for-tat immaturity from the likes of US Rep. Don Bacon, an alleged Republican and retired Air Force general from Nebraska:

“We had a small group of folks who broke our rules and got rid of Kevin, and then a small group broke our rules and blocked Steve. Now they want us to follow the rules and support Jim and I don’t like that. I don’t play a game where the other guy can break the rules and win. As an American, I think we should stand up against that, but that’s what’s happened. We’ve had a minority of the majority dictate all of this, and it’s unacceptable. I’m gonna stand up and defend Kevin and Steve because this was wrong.” 

Rep. Bacon isn’t wrong, factually. Motions to “vacate the Speaker,” at least under House GOP Conference “Rules,” aren’t supposed to be brought to the floor without majority support of the Conference. That wasn’t the case. I am unaware of any rules violation over US Rep. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) nomination from the Conference to be the next Speaker of the House, but there may have been.

US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) violated this House GOP Conference policy when he motioned to “vacate” the Speaker’s position.

While Rep. Bacon and roughly 20 of his colleagues have a point, does it make it right to deny US Rep. Jim Jordan, the endorsed candidate of the House GOP Conference, election to become Speaker of the House?

The mainstream media stain on Jordan is that he’s a bomb-throwing conservative, a co-founder (with former US Rep., Florida Governor, and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis) of the House Freedom Caucus. His biggest sin is not only endorsing Donald Trump for President in 2024 but speaking at a “Stop the Steal” rally or two after the 2020 election.

Put that aside for a moment and lift to about 30,000 feet. Consider who Jim Jordan is and what’s happening in the world. At the same time, we don’t have a Speaker of the House second in line behind a pair of imbeciles, one who is clearly infirm and another who is incompetent if not malevolent as Vice President, a do-nothing job. Think about that.

I have a story about Jim Jordan.

I was the lobbyist for a Fortune 250 food company when making my rounds in January 2007 to meet the Members representing my employer’s manufacturing sites. That included one newly-elected freshman from Ohio, Jim Jordan.

As luck would have it, my eldest son, a freshman wrestler at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University, an NCAA Division I school, was home from school after his first semester. I invited him to don a suit and join me in meeting the former two-time national collegiate wrestling champion from Wisconsin, who later coached at Ohio State.

We met the energetic Jordan at his Cannon House Building office. It didn’t take long for him to chase me out of his office, but not my son - he wanted some one-on-one mentoring time with the freshman collegiate wrestler. He went from Rep. Jordan to Coach Jordan.

I sat outside in the lobby for a long time.

My son emerged from his office, wide-eyed and inspired, as Jordan thanked me for the opportunity to meet not me but my son. He would later visit my manufacturing facility, and we continued a collegial relationship. We may not always agree, but he’s the real deal.

Being Speaker of the House is, by and large, serving as a coach for his or her party.

I can’t think of a better job to prepare one to be Speaker of the House than to serve as a collegiate wrestling coach.

Jim Jordan is a man of faith, integrity, and deep conviction about life, politics, and the Constitution. He wrote a book, “Do What You Said You Would Do: Fighting for Freedom in The Swamp.” In many respects, he would make the perfect Speaker of the House, connecting with the soul of middle America. I can’t imagine any native of Ohio who has had any contact with him not cheering for his ascension.

Sadly, that’s where US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) steps in.

Matt Gaetz killed Jim Jordan’s candidacy for Speaker.

No person is more hated in the House of Representatives, at least among Republicans, than Gaetz, the arrogant know-nothing narcissist from Florida’s panhandle. Democrats don’t respect him, but they love him for being a useful idiot who helps them accomplish their mission to regain power over the House.

And they’re likely to achieve it in 2024. It has not helped that Fox News blowhard Sean Hannity and others have tried to strong-arm Republicans with scorched-earth tactics to force GOP compliance. That’s stupid.

Gaetz has long and loudly advocated for Jordan’s candidacy for Speaker, nominating him during the arduous 15-round debacle that finally resulted in Kevin McCarthy’s narrow win nine months ago. And it was Gaetz who violated House GOP Conference “policy” and pushed a “vacate the Speaker” motion that won with 8 GOP votes and unanimous Democratic support.

Gaetz is so hated by most of his colleagues and ineffective in persuading his fellow Republicans that a vote for Jordan was considered surrendering to the Florida egomaniac who wants to succeed Ron DeSantis as Florida Governor. So while some 200 GOP members voted to elect the man they know, 20, then 22 know-nothings mad over McCarthy’s dismissal, despite the foreign policy and deficit crisis enveloping them, voted against Jordan.

What an embarrassing mess. America’s voters can’t be blamed for tossing House Republicans out of their slim majority in 2024 since they’ve proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they are incapable of responsible governance.

Thanks to the likes of Matt Gaetz, with an assist from Don Bacon, both members of the Hamas wing of the House GOP who seem more interested in spite and revenge than responsible leadership when we need it most.

The good news is that we’re likely to get an adult in the form of US Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as either a temporary Speaker or an “enhanced” Speaker Pro Tempore until cooler and wiser heads emerge. We’ll see. We’re more likely to see Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after the 2024 election.

A better play would be to make Jim Jordan Speaker. Spineless, hand-wringing Republicans who fear Jordan might hurt House GOP prospects in 2024 ignore the pummeling Republicans gave to then-speaker Nancy Pelosi over the years to no effect - elections are not based on who the Speaker is. And notions that Jordan would be a bomb-throwing Speaker dedicated to Trump’s ascendancy aren’t thinking with their brains - he gets the job. He supported Kevin McCarthy for Speaker and was a part of his leadership team. He’s performed magnificently as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

He would make an outstanding Speaker. Deal with Matt Gaetz, who would have little influence over Speaker Jim Jordan, later.

Over 200 House Republicans agree.

These are dark days.

The Hamas wing of the House GOP needs to be stopped.